


Marvel - and the murder on Flag Display

by MissBoaBoa



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Death, Detectives, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Smut, Hurt, M/M, Murder Mystery, Secret Relationship, solving murder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-11-29 03:30:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18217592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissBoaBoa/pseuds/MissBoaBoa
Summary: An AU Marvel fanfic, starring Tony and Steve, two detectives who solve murder cases in New York.Follow these two as try to find out who murdered Aldrich Killian, unraveling some dark and disturbing secrets along the way.Starring Steve, Tony, Natasha, Fury, Sam, Strange and a lot more of your favorite Marvel Characters!I chose to tag this fic with "Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings" for spoiler reasons :)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone and welcome to this fic!  
> First of all, I would like to thank you so much for trying out this story.
> 
> This story has some tags I feel like I should have mentioned, but I don't want to spoil the story...  
> So! If there is anything you feel uncomfortable with, please don't hesitate and ask me about the topics of this fic in the comment section! I will answer your question as soon as I can :) (so I guess this is kind of a "read-at-own-risk"-ish fic... 
> 
> This first chapter will only have the trigger "Character Death" because, well... That's what this fic is about... solving murders... So please keep that in mind :)
> 
> Anyway! without further ado, please enjoy the first chapter of this story!

**Chapter 1**

 

‘Mister Killian, breakfast is ready.’ A woman’s hand knocked on the door, disturbing the silence and tranquility that lingered through the hallway of the old countryside mansion just outside New York. It was still early and quite dark, grey clouds blocking the sun, rain trickling down against the tall and stately windows. The woman turned with a sigh as she did not receive an answer and let her burgundy colored nails rest against the cold glass of the window behind her. 

She stared into the garden, carefully holding a tray with some toast, coffee and the newspaper. The view was beautiful no matter where one would stand, but she liked it best from here, the third floor, overseeing every flower, bush and tree.

‘Horrible weather, huh?’ 

The young woman looked up at the sound of a familiar voice. She smiled as she saw Bucky Barnes walking down the corridor. ‘Not really,’ she shrugged and looked outside again. ‘What is horrible to us is bliss for the plants and trees.’ She laughed as the man raised a questioning brow. ‘You’re up early, Bucky.’ 

‘Still not as early as you, Wanda,’ The man smirked and stopped next to her. ‘I tried knocking on that door fifteen minutes ago. Noting. He must have gone home already.’ 

‘Well, I’ll just have to try again. Maybe he’s still sleeping,’ the woman said determinately, a grin on her face as she ignored the indifferent shrug her friend gave her as he walked away.

‘Mister Killian, Miss Potts has asked for your attendance later today. She would like for you to look into some financial documentations,’ Wanda tried again, but in vain. She placed her hand against the door, opening it gently. ‘Sir?’

She peeked inside and saw that the large bedroom was empty. The bed was perfectly made, the large television hanging from the wall broadcasting the early morning news. She tilted her head, then sighed in irritation as she noticed the open casement window through which rain was pouring in. She placed her tray on a table and walked into the room with big steps. She leaned slightly out of the window to close it and cursed softly in her native tongue as her clothes soaked in the rain. 

She then squinted her eyes and looked up, noticing that the American flag that used to hang proudly on the outside of the building was gone. Instinctively she looked down, figuring it must have fallen. 

She gasped, her soaked hands covering her mouth as she saw the lifeless body of Aldrich Killian, covered in the mud-stained American flag.

 

* * *

  

The garden was swarming with police within a matter of minutes after Wanda had called 911. Men in white overalls were investigating the crime scene, taking pictures and searching for… Well, Wanda was not quite sure what they were searching for. Evidence, probably.

She was sitting on the steps of the front door porch, the cold marble still wet from the rain. She looked up and squinted to protect her eyes from the bright Summer sun that had started to break through grey clouds and saw a dark red sports car driving up the property. 

‘Okay, Stark, all I’m saying is that I won’t blame her if she gives you a ticket for speeding.’ A blond man argued towards his college as he stepped out of the car. 

‘What can I say, Rogers? Murder is an emergency, I’m sure she’ll cut me some slack. We’re colleagues, after all.’ The other countered with a confident smile, dark sunglasses covering his eyes. He looked up at the building, his mouth slightly ajar as he stared at the old, yet stately mansion. ‘How fancy.’ 

‘Build in 1845, has been in the hands of the same family for generations.’ Sam said as he suddenly stood behind the two, a notebook in his hands. ‘Our victim didn’t live here, though. He was just visiting.’ He gestured the two towards the body with a wave of his hand.

‘Guy looks familiar,’ Tony noted as he bent over their soaked victim and casually studied him.

‘His name is Aldrich Killian,’ Sam continued to inform. ‘Forty-six years old. No wife, no children. He was a ruthless businessman, has made the news quite a few times for all kinds of charges but was never convicted. He started out with his own company about twenty years ago and quickly made it to the top.’ 

‘And now he’s back at the bottom again,’ Tony chuckled at his own joke, looking from the open windows on the third floor to the victim at his feet. 

‘Very clever, Stark.’ A man said with an unimpressed grimace. He walked towards the two, a clipboard in hand. 

‘Strange,’ Steve greeted the man with a nod.

‘Doctor, such a pleasure as always.’ Tony smiled, though the sarcasm in his voice made it clear he was teasing. ‘Let me guess, the victim’s cause of death was falling from that window?’ 

‘Correct,’ Strange glared at him from the corner of his eye before turning his attention towards Steve. ‘He fell from approximately 30 feet into these conifers, they didn’t break his fall though.’

‘Well, it’s clear to me, then.’ Tony nodded as he placed his hands on his hips. ‘Tried to close the window, slipped, fell down, dead. Easy.’ 

‘It’s always such a miracle how you solve these cases so quickly, Stark.’ Strange snarled in disapproval. 

‘Time of death?’ Steve asked quickly to intervene, knowing the arguments between his partner and the medical examiner could easily last for hours.

‘Somewhere between twelve and two o’clock last night. I can’t see any signs of a fight or struggle right now. I’ll bring you the autopsy report as soon as I can. Now, if you’ll excuse me, gentlemen,’ he passed the two detectives with a nod of his head and walked back to his car.

Steve looked at his partner with one brow raised. As Tony merely smiled back and reacted with an innocent “what?” the blond just sighed. ‘Where’s Romanoff?’ 

‘Talking to the woman who found the body,’ Sam said as he pointed towards the redhead who already came walking towards them. 

‘Wanda Maximoff, twenty-three years old, born and raised in Sokovia, a small country in Europe. Came to America at the age of fourteen and now lives and works here as a maid.’ Natasha informed the two. ‘She found the body when she tried to close his windows on the third floor. Immediately called 911.’ 

With a nod of his head Steve went over the young woman, Tony right at his side. ‘Miss Maximoff?’ he asked gently at which the woman stood up. ‘I’m Steve Rogers, Criminal Investigation Department, this is my colleague Tony Stark. I heard you found the body?’ 

‘Call me Wanda,’ She nodded as she wrapped her arms around herself and nervously shifted from one foot to the other. ‘Mister Killian was staying overnight. I knocked on his door to bring him breakfast, but he didn’t answer. When I walked into the room I noticed that the windows were open and when I tried to close them, I…’ She wanted to continue, but a soft sob took her breath and she covered her mouth, tears gently falling from her eyes. 

‘Yes, why was he staying here, anyway?’ Tony asked. ‘This isn’t a hotel, is it?’ 

‘No, it’s not.’ Wanda continued, quickly wiping the tears from her cheeks. ‘Miss Potts, the landowner, she invited him to stay. He came here a lot.’ 

‘And where can we find Miss Potts?’ Tony continued. 

‘She is of to work. I tried calling her, but she wouldn’t pick up her phone. Bucky is now going after her, it won’t be long before they’ll be back.’ The woman looked up at the two men, their questioning gaze causing her to continue with a sniffle. ‘Bucky Barnes. He lives and works here as well.’ 

‘Right,’ Steve nodded. ‘Did anything unusual happen last night? Did someone maybe have an argument with Mister Killian? Or did he behave any different?’ 

‘Well, no,’ Wanda frowned. ‘Why do you ask? He fell out the widow, right?’ Her eyes then widened, ‘You are from the Criminal Investigation Department, does that mean he- was he murdered…?’

‘That’s what we’re trying to find out,’ Steve gave her a gentle smile. He looked around, taking in the large, well-kept garden, its serenity and greenery a welcome change from the hectic buzzing of New York city. As he looked around he saw a blond man staring at them from the distance, disappearing directly into a large shed the moment their eyes met. ‘Well…’ Steve continued as he turned towards Wanda again. ‘That’ll be it, for now.’ He smiled and wanted to walk away, ‘Oh, just one more thing. Where were you last night, between twelve and two o’clock?’ 

‘I was in my room, asleep.’ 

‘Any witnesses?’ Tony asked lightly at which the young woman frowned, a slightly perplexed “no” being her answer. 

With Tony at his side Steve made his way deeper into the garden and walked straight towards the shed, meeting the tall and broad man he saw earlier. ‘Good morning, I’m Steve Rogers, Criminal Investigation Department, this is my colleague Tony Stark.’ 

The man was standing behind a working bench, working on an old oak chair. He looked up with bright blue eyes, his blond hair wrapped in a short ponytail. ‘Thor, Odinson,’ he commented curtly. 

‘I’m sorry to inform you, but-’ 

‘Yeah, I already heard,’ Thor interrupted Steve. ‘Killian, he’s dead, right? Bucky already told me.’ 

‘You don’t look all that shocked or surprised,’ Tony noted with something that was balancing between a smirk and a smile.

‘Do I have to?’ Thor asked unimpressed, his attention already back to his project. ‘We differed in a lot of things, Killian and I but that mattered not. He was always here for business with Miss Potts, so we hardly ever spoke with each other.’ 

‘You live here as well, don’t you?’ Tony asked, looking at all the tools that were neatly hanging on the wall. ‘What do you do for a living? Don’t assume you’re a maid, huh?’ 

‘Correct,’ Thor grabbed a piece of sandpaper and ripped one of the legs straight off the chair with a brute lash, causing Tony to gulp for a second. ‘I work in and around the house. Mostly repairs. This mansion is old, needs a lot of maintenance.’ 

‘Thor?’ Another voice called out and the three men turned around, meeting emerald eyes. A young teen was standing in the large doorway, his hair black as a moonless night, his skin pale. He was wearing heavy boots covered in dirt and garden gloves, about a dozen roses and some green resting in his arms. His clothes covered every inch of his skin, which seemed rather odd considering these warm Summer days. 

The boy froze on the spot as the two strangers looked at him. He gulped but continued nonetheless, ‘Why is the police here? What’s going on? I asked Wanda, but she send met to you.’

‘Loki,’ Thor quickly smiled and walked over to the teen, resting his hands on his shoulders. The words he then spoke left Tony and Steve to look at each other in wonder, for the blond was speaking in a language they didn’t understand. They saw how Loki’s mouth fell slightly ajar as Thor spoke the name of the victim, his emerald eyes darting from Thor towards the two detectives. 

Thor patted Loki on his back, a reassuring smile shining through. ‘Go put those flowers in a vase, Loki. I am quite certain Miss Potts will appreciate it. Ask Wanda for help, if you need to.’ 

The raven silently nodded and slowly walked back towards the mansion, looking over his shoulder every few steps until he was inside again. 

‘Hey, wait up,’ Tony started, wanting to follow the child, but Thor made sure to block his way.

‘He’s my younger brother, turned sixteen last week. I would appreciate it if you would leave him alone.’ The blond’s voice was low, making his sentence sound more like a threat than a favor. 

Steve sighed, but nodded. He always preferred to keep children out of these matters and he didn’t have any reasons to talk with Loki specifically. Not now, anyway. ‘We will leave you be,’ he gave Thor a genuine smile, causing the blond to uncomfortably smile back, somewhat. ‘Would you please ask Mister Barnes and Miss Potts to come to the police station as soon as they can?’ 

Thor nodded, wanting to turn back to his project again. 

‘Ah, one last question,’ Tony said before turning around and he looked Thor in the eye. ‘Where were you last night between twelve and two o’clock?’

Thor remained silent for a moment, answering with slightly squinted eyes. ‘Asleep. No witnesses.’

The two detectives nodded, walked back to their car and returned to the police station.

 

* * *

 

 

‘Wanne make a bet?’ Tony asked as he walked through the hallway of the police station, Sam and Natasha at his side. ‘Twenty bucks says it was just an accident and we are all wasting our time.’ 

Sam looked at the playboy with a raised brow, but then shrugged. ‘Okay, why not? Twenty bucks saying it’s murder.’ The two shook hands while Steve walked behind them, disapprovingly shaking his head but deciding to stay out of this one. 

‘Ah! Rogers!’ A voice sounded behind the main counter, coming from watch commander Rhodey. ‘Commissioner Fury wants to have a word with you. He’s waiting in his office upstairs.’ 

Steve sighed but nodded nonetheless. He always respected the commissioner even though they argued a lot. Fury usually disagreed on his methods during his investigations, finding his decisions either too risky or even unparliamentary. 

The blond made his way up the stone stairs, following his colleagues, but where Sam, Tony and Natasha walked straight towards their own desks, Steve had to take a right into the commissioner’s office. He knocked on the door before walking in, ‘You wanted to see me, sir?’ 

‘Ah, yes,’ Fury looked up from behind his desk, papers and files piled up next to him. ‘I heard you and your team have some time to spare, so I want you all to help me work through some files. The detective’s department is late with its reports, as always, so it’s about time you start on those.’

‘Time to spare?’ Steve asked with a frown. ‘I’m in the middle of a case.’

‘You mean the Killian case?’ Fury shook his head, his one eye turning back to the papers he was working on. ‘The man fell out of the window. It is a tragedy at most, not a case.’

Steve sighed silently, ‘I think there’s more going on.’ 

‘Evidence, Rogers,’ Fury murmured without looking at the man in front of him. 

‘I don’t have any evidence, not yet. But I’m sure we’ll find some if you could give me and my team some time.’ Steve tried, but already saw that Fury was not buying it. He had to come up with something better. 

The blond stood up and turned towards the door again with a deep and loud sigh, ‘Alright, I understand. I’ll probably read all about it in the newspaper tomorrow. Good luck explaining this to the Chief Police Officer, sir,’ this remark caused Fury to look at Steve through his lashes, a grim expression darkening his face. Steve continued with a smile, ‘Well, Killian was quite the big shot, owns a lot of properties, has been into contact with the police on multiple occasions, yet we spends our time on archive work rather than investigating his death.’ The blond wrinkled his nose slightly as he held the doorknob in his hand. ‘Don’t think the Department of Justice will be too pleased to read that. Oh well, it’s your call, sir.’ 

‘Rogers,’ Fury called the man’s name just before Steve wanted to walk out of the office. ‘I’m gonna give you twenty-four hours, nothing more.’ He sighed deeply as he saw Steve’s innocent smile. ‘Get out, Rogers.’


	2. chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, and welcome back.
> 
> This chapter will contain porn. If you don't feel comfortable with reading that than please skip the text between the two * marks.  
> Don't worry, you won't miss anything important ;)

**Chapter 2**

‘What did Fury want from you?’ Tony asked as he handed Steve a cup of coffee. 

‘Oh, nothing,’ The blond sat down behind his desk, taking a sip of the piping hot drink. ‘Okay, tell me, what do we have?’ 

‘Loki and Thor Odinson,’ Natasha started as she read from her tabled. She sat down at the edge of Steve’s desk, Tony and Sam at her side. ‘Refugees from the Faroe Islands. Their father, Odin Borson, was a drug lord and killed ten years ago together with his wife. Thor took Loki and fled the country otherwise they would have been killed as well. They were eighteen and ten at that time.’ 

‘Wanda Maximoff, twenty-three years old, born and raised in Sokovia, a small and corrupted country in Europe as I already told you earlier,’ Sam continued as he had researched the other two during Steve’s chat with Fury. ‘Mother deceased, father unknown and her brother, Pietro Maximoff, was shot dead by the cops after robbing a super market for food. Wanda was devastated after losing him and turned to all kinds of witch craft and voodoo rituals in hopes to come into contact with him, however,’ Sam took a deep breath and sighed sadly, ‘apparently Sokovia is a very superstitious nation and she quickly became known as the “Scarlett Witch”. People thought she was dangerous, wanted to kill her and that’s why she fled her country.’ 

Steve nodded slowly, a wrinkle forming between his brows as he thought this through. ‘And Barnes?’

‘He’s from Russia, so naturally we don’t have much on him,’ Sam continued, scrolling though the little information he could get on his tabled in hand. ‘James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes was sent to a boarding school by the age of seven. Now, I couldn’t find out what kind of school exactly but after that he became some sort of secret Russian military weapon and became notorious as the “Winter Soldier”. He was experimented on and when the officials found out about this the army wanted-’

‘Let me guess,’ Steve interrupted with a grim expression. ‘They wanted him dead.’

‘He probably knew too much.’ Sam confirmed.

‘And these four, among many other, were send to Potts Refugee Reception Office,’ Tony stood up from his chair, gaining the attention of his co-workers. ‘Miss Virginia "Pepper" Potts, owner of the Potts mansion and Potts RRO, it is the primary point of contact for asylum seekers and refugees with the government. It is where asylum seekers can apply for asylum for refugee status, where interviews are conducted, where permits are renewed, and where refugee status documents are handed out. Miss Potts is not married, no children.’ 

‘So the four of them are all refugees and they all live in Potts mansion,’ Steve concluded and then looked at his team. ‘but why?’

‘Maybe I could answer that question for you,’ A woman’s voice sounded, and the four detectives turned around, meeting the gentle brown eyes of a gorgeous lady. She was dressed in an all-white skirt suit set, her red hair tied in a low ponytail and falling over her left shoulder. ‘Detective Rogers?’ she asked kindly.

 

* * *

 

 

‘I am sorry for your loss, Miss Potts.’ Steve handed the woman a cup of coffee and sat down behind his desk. As the lady remained standing he kindly gestured her towards the seat opposite of him.

‘Thank you,’ Pepper managed to smile after taking a deep breath. She sat down like a true lady, her feet placed neatly next to each other, her hands crossed on her lap, holding a white clutch. ‘I couldn’t believe it when Bucky told me and, frankly, I still can’t.’ 

‘Is Mister Barnes your chauffeur?’ Tony asked as he closed the door of the office, the three of them now sitting together in Steve’s small but practical office room. 

Pepper remained silent for a moment, her nose slightly wrinkled as she was thinking of what to say. ‘Yes, and no,’ she answered. ‘Only if necessary. He sometimes helps with maintenance, but mostly takes care of security.’ 

‘Yes, could you please tell me, Miss Potts-’

‘About my cohabitants,’ the woman interrupted Steve. 

‘Cohabitants?’ Stark raised his brows at the fancy word. ‘Don’t you mean “staff?”’

‘I always hated that word,’ Pepper explained lightly. ‘Though you are not wrong. They live and work in the mansion, under my care.’ She turned her attention towards the blond opposite of her. ‘You wanted to know why them, right?’ As Steve nodded, she continued. ‘Wanda and Bucky have about the same story. When they came to the RRO they would not talk to anyone, did not even dare to look up, both too afraid of being tortured or murdered. They wouldn’t even speak to our interpreters. Most refugees open up to us at some point, eventually, but they didn’t. They would’ve both been sent back to Russia and Sokovia if they would not cooperate and I, well… I just couldn’t send them back...’

‘So, you offered them a place in your home,’ Stark said, crossing his arms as he sat back in his chair. ‘How noble, or incredibly stupid. Some sort of ultra-secret soldier and a witch, isn’t that just asking for problems?’

‘Maybe,’ Pepper answered calmly though earnestly. ‘but it all ended up well. They can finally let their pasts rest and focus on their futures. As for Thor and Loki, organization protocols indicated that the two should have been separated. Thor being eighteen and considered an adult, he had to part from his little brother and undergo a whole different trajectory.’

‘But Thor did not want to part from Loki, and that’s where you stepped in.’ Steve figured as he fiddled with a pen. He continued after Pepper nodded, ‘Miss Potts, what is your relation to Mister Killian?’

‘Aldrich came to me about a year ago, offering me a deal to buy my company. I rejected. He was, how should I put it… _upset_ , at first, but then he saw the work I did and offered me his help running the place. I did agree on that, and we have been working together ever since. Our relationship is- _was_ strictly professional.’ 

‘Are you sure?’ Tony asked with a one-sided smirk. ‘It’s not all that uncommon for colleagues to… _engage_ in some form of romantic relationship.’ The man’s eyes trailed towards the blond for a split second, knowing that Steve must have heard him even though he did not meet his gaze. ‘You invited him to spend the night at your mansion, right? And not just once.’ 

‘Well, what can I say?’ Pepper sighed. ‘He was an attractive and charming man, but I didn’t share a bed with him. I let him look at my spreadsheets not at my spread legs.’ She met Tony’s gaze with an equally cocky smirk, clearly surprising the man with her words. 

‘Hmm,’ Steve hummed thoughtfully as he made some notes. ‘Leaves me with one last question, for now. Where were you between twelve and two o’clock last night?’ 

Pepper’s eyes widened as the question took her off guard, ‘Uh… I had a couple of drinks at the bar in our lounge together with Aldrich… We stayed there till eleven or, eleven thirty. I went to bed after that and, as far as I know, so did Aldrich.’ 

‘No late-night “matters” to discuss together?’ Tony asked. 

‘No, detective Stark,’ Pepper said calmly though a hint of irritation vibrated in her words. ‘I was in bed, _alone_.’ She stood up and looked at the two men. ‘If that will be all?’ She looked at Steve, smiling gently before leaving as the blond nodded silently.

 

* * *

 

 

‘You think she’s telling the truth?’ Tony asked as he and Steve looked out the office window and watched Pepper enter the passenger side of her car, the door being held open by who they assumed was Bucky Barnes. 

‘She has no reasons to lie,’ Steve shrugged. ‘Not as far as we know, anyway.’ 

‘We haven’t spoken to our soldier yet, want me to go after them?’ 

‘Don’t bother,’ Natasha said as she walked into the blond’s office without warning, startling the two as always. ‘Sam and I spoke to him while you two were busy interrogating Miss Potts.’ 

‘And?’ Steve asked, slightly impatient. 

‘Our Russian isn’t much of a talker,’ Sam said as he joined his partner, the four of them now being together again. ‘All we got from him was that he hardly knew Killian and that he was taking a shower and going to bed somewhere around midnight.’ 

‘Let me guess,’ Tony asked with a slightly frustrated smile. ‘No witnesses?’ 

‘None. He said he finished walking his last security round through the mansion somewhere around twelve together with Thor.’ Natasha continued. ‘Then dropped Thor off at his room and went to bed.’ 

‘Thor didn’t say anything about that,’ Tony noted. ‘I wonder why. Want me to go get him?’ 

‘Hmm, no, it’s been enough for today,’ Steve concluded as he looked at the clock, noticing that it was already past seven. ‘I’m going home. Good job today guys, see you all tomorrow.’

 

* * *

 

 

Steve turned on the shower, waiting patiently for it to warm while undressing. He was happy to be home again, to just slumber on his slightly warn-down couch and watching a game of football after eating dinner. His apartment was not big, nor was it luxurious, but it was home. 

‘Room for two?’ 

Steve turned around in nothing but his boxers, his jeans in his hands. He scoffed softly at the sight of his lover standing in the door way. Yes, he loved his warn-down couch, a game of football, a good dinner, and, of course, his boyfriend. ‘I’m sorry, sir, but this area is off limits for now.’ He teased while folding his pants and placed them neatly with the rest of his clothes. 

‘Oh, is that so, detective?’ Tony smirked as he crossed his arms and leaned in the doorway. ‘That is such a shame, especially since I wanted to talk to you about a very big personal problem.’ He walked into the bathroom with a pout, his hands folded behind his back.

‘Tony, I’m serious,’ the blond chuckled, taking a step back as Tony nearly pressed his lips against his neck. ‘I’m gonna take a shower and go to bed, no fooling around okay? We really have to stop doing that.’

 

 

*****

 

 

‘Oh, but detective,’ Tony sighed dramatically, placing the back of his hand against forehead. ‘You have to listen to me, for I have a confession to make.’ He then placed his hands against Steve’s bared chest and pressed their bodies together, his fingers slowly trailing down the man’s skin to his abs. 

Steve blinked at first, but then just smiled. Tony wanted to play a game and Steve was eager to participate. ‘Fine,’ he wrapped his arms around the man, puling him closer against his chest. ‘Tell me, sir, what is it you wanted to confess?’

‘Well, detective,’ Tony started, his lips nearly brushing those of the blond. ‘I have done so many bad things in my life and I can’t live with it any longer.’ His voice was nothing but a sultry whisper, words vibrating against the blond’s skin. Tony wrapped an arm around Steve’s waist, his fingers gently caressing his skin. ‘I think I need to be punished by a strong hand of the law.’

‘I see,’ Steve hummed in delight and tried to press his lips against Tony’s, but the man teasingly moved backwards a little each time the blond made a move. He looked at his partner in slight confusion for a second, but eventually just smiled as he saw Tony’s iconic smirk appear on his face. ‘I think I am starting to understand your situation, sir.’ He pushed Tony against the tiled wall and took a firm hold of his wrists, holding them above his head in one hand. ‘I will personally see to it that your punishment will fit your crimes.’

Stark gasped softly as Steve moved a rough hand underneath his shirt, the cold tiles pressed against his back left him shivering. ‘Please, sir,’ he pleaded, throwing his head back as Steve pressed hot kisses in the nape of his neck. ‘be gentle with me.’ He moved a foot between Steve’s legs, then slowly lifted his knee, pressing it against the blond’s half-hard cock.

The man moaned softly, feeling the warmth of Tony’s leg through his boxers. He let his teeth sink into his partner’s neck, roughly, yet still careful enough not to break his skin. He could never really hurt Tony, not even if his partner wanted him to. He wanted to move his hips against Tony’s leg, to just rut against him and feel the friction through his boxers.

But of course, Tony had other plans. 

The playboy smirked, hearing Steve nearly growl in frustration as he placed his foot back on the floor. He stared straight into mesmerizing, bright-blue eyes, tainted with want. A challenging smirk formed on Tony’s face and mischief gleamed in his eyes. ‘Oops,’ he let out in a virtuous whisper as he leaned forward, his breath hot against the blond’s ear. ‘What’s wrong, officer?’ His attitude changed, lust replacing innocence, a smooth and dark voice vibrating against Steve’s skin, ‘I thought you were going to properly punish me.’ He bit down in the blond’s helix, softly moving the skin between his teeth which rewarded him with lewd moan coming from his partner. 

‘Oh, I will punish you alright,’ Steve smirked darkly. He let his fingers tangle with Tony’s brown hair and pulled him back, a shiver of ecstasy running down his body as he heard the man groan. Their faces were flushed, hair sticking against their skin as the room filled with steam coming from the running shower. Steve grabbed Tony’s ass, massaging it roughly before grabbing his wrist and pulling him under the hot water. ‘You left me no choice but to take you to jail.’ 

Tony let out a soft yelp as he was pushed against the wall again, his chest pressed against the wet tiles. He closed his eyes as he felt Steve wrap his hands around his waist and eagerly pull down his pants and underwear. ‘I think this might be against the law, sir.’ He panted, feeling the blond’s fingers wrap around his hard cock. 

‘Shut up, inmate,’ Steve growled, pressing his groin against Tony’s ass. He moved his hand, gently at first, but soon pumped it up and down so quickly that the only sound audible in the room where his partner’s pleads for more. 

Tony’s mouth hang slightly open, desperate for oxygen in the steam-filled room. The tiles on the wall were cold against his flush cheeks, the sound of the water falling on the floor was not nearly enough to muffle his lewd cries and gasps. He pressed his eyes shut, lust stirring hot in his core as he came in Steve’s willing hand. 

‘Think you’ve learned your lesson?’ Steve growled in Tony’s ear as the man’s legs gave out and he caught him in his strong arms.  

Tony panted for a minute, relying on his boyfriend to hold him while he caught his breath. He turned around and smirked as he saw Steve’s wild eyes, ‘Almost, sir,’ he whispered, then pressed his lips against the blond’s mouth, kissing him passionately.

Steve leaned into the kiss, wanting it to last forever, but as always, Tony had other plans. He felt Tony’s lips move from his lips to his jawline, to his neck and down his chest. Before he knew it, the other man was on his knees, his mouth teasingly against the head of the blond’s already leaking cock. Steve threw his head back and gritted his teeth, his fingers wondering through Tony’s hair as the playboy pulled down his boxers and wrapped his lips around his cock. 

Tony placed his hands on Steve’s hips and hallowed his cheeks, skillfully fucking his face on the blond’s cock. He licked the head, the bitterness of pre-cum sending a shiver down his spine, his moans stifled as he buried Steve’s cock in his throat again. It did not take long before he felt the blond’s hips quiver underneath his touch, telling him that he was about to come. Tony looked up through his lashes and saw Steve’s chest heaving heavily with each breath he took. 

‘To-ny…’ Steve gasped, uselessly trying to get a grip on the wet tiles. ‘If you continue- I… I’ll-’ He tried to warn his partner, but Tony mercilessly continued to suck him off. 

Steve came hard with a rough jerk of his hips, a flash of white appearing in front of his eyes for a split second as Tony sucked him through his orgasm. Tony swallowed every drop of the blond’s warm cum, then gently licked him clean before getting back on his feet again.

The two panted and stared each other for a moment, their breathing finally stabilizing as they wrapped their arms around each other, their lips meeting yet again in a gentle and loving kiss.  

 

 

*****

 

 

‘You really bring out the worst in me, Stark,’ Steve said as he let himself fall on his bed. The springs protested with a soft squeak, the fresh linen releasing a faint scent of lavender.

‘Using my last name, huh? That can’t be good,’ Tony chuckled as he entered the small bedroom of Steve’s apartment in his boxers, a glass of scotch in his hand. He walked towards the bed, smiling as he mentally compared his own cluttered apartment with the ever-so tidy bedroom of his partner. ‘What’s wrong, hot stuff?’ he asked as he placed his drink on the bedside table and joined Steve underneath the soft, dark-grey blankets. 

‘Everything,’ Steve sighed. ‘What we just did, and this, and…’ He then turned towards Tony. ‘We have to stop.’ 

‘Stop what?’ Tony asked innocently, though he could not suppress his smirk. He then sighed at the blond’s slightly unamused expression. ‘Steve, relax. We’ll be fine as long as no one at the police station finds out.’ 

‘But what if they do?’ 

‘Then we’ll get fired,’ Tony stated matter-of-factly and he shrugged. ‘but it won’t get to that point. I mean, we’ve been dating for a couple of weeks now and no one has found out, right?’ 

‘Right, but-’ Steve wanted to protest, but was hushed by Tony’s lips against his own. He closed his eyes, his muscles relaxing as he breathed in the man’s scent. 

‘I love you, Rogers, and I’m not gonna let anyone stop me from doing so,’ Tony smiled gently as he placed his hand on the blond’s cheek, his thumb softly caressing his skin. 

‘I love you too, Stark,’ A smile finally shined through on Steve’s face. He tilted his head slightly to press his lips in the palm of Tony’s hand. 

‘You better. I don’t give such amazing blowjobs to just anyone,’ Tony chuckled, his smile brightening as he saw Steve roll his eyes, a color forming on the man’s cheeks. ‘Now, go get some sleep. We’ve got a murder to solve tomorrow.’ He pressed a kiss against Steve’s forehead before turning off the light. He wrapped his arms around the blond, holding him against his chest as they both drifted off into the wonders of their dreams.   


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

  
‘Some cuts and nasty bruises caused by the fall, the head trauma being the cause of death,’ Strange said as he sat in the chair opposite of Steve’s desk. He stirred his tea, the autopsy report neatly placed in front of him. ‘There was alcohol in his blood as well.’

‘Was he drunk enough to just fall out of the window?’ Tony asked as he sat backwards on his chair, a smile on his face as he was about to win his bet with Sam.

‘I don’t think so.’ Strange wrinkled his nose in slight doubt but then shook his head. ‘He was tipsy, at most. I think someone must have given him a push, at least.’ 

‘So, no signs of any kind of struggle or fight?’ Steve asked with a frown as he looked through the pages of the report, sighing at the little help it was providing. 

‘Well, not in the form of an injury-’

‘So, it was just an accident after all?’ Tony smirked and he looked at Sam, holding up his hand in which his coworker reluctantly handed him the twenty bucks. 

‘I would tell you if you would let me finish talking,’ Strange snapped, his dark brown eyes effectively silencing the other man. ‘I couldn’t find any injuries that indicated a fight, however, I _did_ find some skin tissue underneath the victim’s fingernails.’

‘So, he was murdered?’ Sam asked hopefully, already eyeing Stark with a grin.

‘Isn’t that _your_ job to find out?’ Strange managed to smile as he saw Sam nodding slowly. ‘Oh, there is one more thing, your victim had sexual intercourse shortly before his death. I found seminal fluid and some blood surrounding the private area.’ 

‘Blood?’ Natasha repeated with a frown. ‘Rape?’ 

‘Possibly.’ 

‘Doesn’t have to be, though,’ Tony suggested as he pulled a face at the thought. ‘I mean, if a woman is on her peri-’ 

‘Yes, we get it, Stark,’ Natasha interrupted him as she rolled her eyes, hitting him on the back of his head with a rolled-up file. ‘Were you able to extract DNA?’ 

‘Well, the seminal fluid was from the victim himself, the blood on the other hand remains a mystery. There wasn’t enough for me to do a proper research. We didn’t find any wounds on the victim, so it cannot be his.’ 

‘Booze, sex and then die right after,’ Tony remarked. ‘What a way to go. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “happy ending”, don’t you think?’ He looked at Natasha with a smile at which the woman threatened to hit him on the head again. Though Tony did manage to raise one side of her lip which he counted as a win. 

‘Honestly, Rogers, how can you work with that guy?’ Strange murmured as he took the last sip of his tea. 

‘He has his moments, sometimes,’ Steve chuckled in response. ‘Thank you, Strange, for the report.’ 

‘So what do you want to do now?’ Natasha asked as she sat down on the corner of the blond’s desk. ‘We still don’t know whether the victim was murdered or if it was just an accident.’ 

‘You’re forgetting the skin tissue underneath the victim’s fingernails, that could be a sign of a struggle.’ Sam noted, ‘What do you wanne do, Rogers? Should I sent someone to pick up Miss Potts?’ 

‘No, that won’t be necessary,’ Steve shook his head and looked at his team. ‘Romanoff, I want you to look into the victim’s financial documentations, bank accounts, loans, debts, everything. Also I want to know what kind of charges were pressed against him. Stark, we are going to that mansion. I want to speak with Miss Potts again and Barnes and that kid, Loki.’ 

‘And what do you want me to do?’ Sam asked as Natasha went back to her own desk and Tony grabbed his coat. 

‘I want you to keep Fury off my back,’ Steve smiled as he already walked out of his office. ‘He gave us twenty-four hours to find evidence and that time’s almost up. Distract him, make sure he doesn’t bother me.’ 

‘And how am I supposed to do that?’ 

‘I don’t know, ask for a raise? He’ll be pissed enough for the rest of the day to leave me alone,’ Steve smiled at Sam’s almost desperate frown. He walked out of his office, Stark at his side, and the two left the police station.

 

* * *

 

 

Tony drove up the ridiculously large driveway, stopping in front of the grand entrance of the mansion. The two stepped out of the car, the gravel path grinding beneath their feet as they made their way towards the front door. 

‘You think Miss Potts was lying?’ Tony asked as he rang the doorbell. ‘She said she didn’t have an intimate relation with Killian.’

‘Could be,’ Steve shrugged. ‘Problem is we don’t know who’s blood it is that was found on our victim, so really it could be anybody.’

‘Mister Rogers, Mister Stark,’ Wanda greeted the two as she opened the door. ‘Why are you here?’ 

‘Miss Maximoff,’ Steve nodded with a kind smile, the early morning sun brightening his blue eyes. ‘We would like to speak to Miss Potts, is she home?’ 

‘She is,’ Wanda took a step back, inventing the two to come inside. ‘Are you here to tell us that it was murder?’

‘We’re still not really sure on that,’ Tony mumbled as he admired the art decorating the rooms they passed. The mansion was just as impressive on the inside as it was on the outside. ‘Why do you ask? You think someone murdered him?’ 

‘I don’t,’ the woman stated curtly, her black leather shoes tapping against the marble floor as she continued walking. ‘I simply don’t think much of the police.’ She smiled at Tony as she said this, earning her a slightly irritated hum in return.

Wanda opened the large French doors that lead to the garden and guided the two towards an old oak tree. ‘Miss Potts? The gentlemen of the police department are here. They asked for you.’

Pepper was working at a picknick table underneath the big tree, enjoying the shade it provided on this already warm day. She looked up from her laptop, reading glasses sliding slightly down her nose. ‘Thank you, Wanda,’ she smiled and offered the two men to take a seat. ‘Tell me, what can I do for you today?’ 

‘Miss Potts, what was your relationship with Mister Killian?’ Steve asked as he kept standing. 

‘… I thought I already told you,’ Pepper smiled, slightly confused. 

‘Try again, we like to hear things twice, just to be sure,’ Stark answered casually. 

‘O-kay,’ She quickly shook her head to rid herself of the slight confusion a polite but forced smile on her face. ‘I am _not_ in love with Aldrich, Aldrich was _not_ in love with me and we did _not_ have a relationship. There. Clear?’ 

‘As day,’ Tony smiled lightheartedly. ‘Leaves us with one question though; who did he have sex with the night he was murdered?’ 

‘Sex?’ Pepper blinked in perplexity. ‘Well... I- I can guarantee you that it was not me.’ 

‘Then who was it?’ Steve asked. 

‘How am I supposed to know?’ Pepper’s brows furrowed, her kind and soft expression ebbing away with each question, making way for frustration. ‘Maybe he was… maybe he just masturbated.’ 

‘Unlikely. Masturbation does not leave these kind of traces,’ Tony put on his sunglasses as some rays started to shimmer through the leaves of the oak tree. ‘We’ve also found some blood around the-uhm… _private_ area.’

Pepper remained silent for moment, staring at her hands as she was lost for words. The three of them then looked up as they heard the old backdoor of the mansion opening again with a loud creak. 

The first to walk through was Loki, a backpack hanging from one shoulder. He didn’t look around, directly running towards the large shed at the other end of the garden. He opened his arms and hugged his older brother who was just in time of putting his tools down. They were talking, smiling, nothing but pure love shining through as Thor lowered himself to meet the raven eye to eye. They were laughing, Loki’s enthusiasm only growing as Bucky and Wanda joined the two, bringing them refreshments. 

‘Look at them, as if they are a family.’ Pepper nearly whispered as she lowered her tense shoulders. ‘Mister Rogers… Aldrich’s death has to be an accident… It just has to be.’ 

Steve sighed as he kept staring at the four in the distance. ‘Thank you, for your time, Miss Potts.’ He walked away with a nod of his head and went straight towards the group that was still standing near the shed. ‘Mister Barnes?’ 

The four of them fell completely silent, Bucky’s expression going dark within a split second. ‘Yes?’ 

‘Can we have a word with you?’ 

‘I already told everything to your partner, the lady with red hair.’ Bucky stated curtly as he brushed a lock of his hair behind his ear, his Russian accent still slightly noticeable in his voice. ‘I have nothing to tell you.’

‘Well, that’s just bad luck for you ‘cause we do have something to tell _you_ ,’ Tony’s smirk only seemed to make Bucky’s mood go even more sour. 

The soldier reluctantly walked along with the two towards the mansion, stopping halfway as they were already out of ears’ reach. ‘What do you want?’ 

‘Mister Killian had sex the night before he died, care to explain?’ Stark asked bluntly. 

‘…You think I-?!’ His nose wrinkled in disgust. 

‘We don’t think anything, we just ask,’ Steve added calmly. ‘Do you think there’s anyone here who would-’ 

‘No,’ Bucky interrupted and crossed his arms. ‘No one in this house would have sex with that guy.’ He scoffed, looking at the two in absolute disgust. ‘Идиоты… America or Russia, you cops are all the same. Killian’s death was an accident. Stop bothering innocent people.’ He turned on his heel and walked into the mansion without another word. 

‘I hate to tell you, Rogers, but I’m thinking the guy’s right,’ Tony mumbled with a sigh. ‘I know your gut is telling you different but up until now this entire situation seems to be one big accident. Plus, even _if_ anything would have happened these guys would clearly cover each other, we’re getting nowhere with this.’ 

‘What about the skin tissue underneath the victim’s fingernails? Something happened here that night, Stark, and I’m gonna find out what. Also, don’t you think Barnes reacted a little strongly when we asked him if anyone would have sex with Killian?’ He then looked over at Wanda, Loki and Thor who were all busy doing their own thing, yet remained at each other’s side. ‘And we haven’t talked to all of them, yet.’

 

* * *

 

‘I was asleep that night,’ Loki’s voice was soft, nervousness clenching his throat. ‘I helped Wanda washing the dishes after dinner, then went to my room to do my homework. I took a shower and went to bed at ten o’ clock, as usual.’

‘Where you alone?’ Steve asked as he sat down at the kitchen table, a glass of lemonade in his hand.

‘Yes, sir,’ the raven nodded. ‘Thor was still out the moment I left the shower, he was probably still walking his security round through the building together with Bucky.’

‘Do you and Thor share a room?’ Steve asked kindly at which Loki nodded, explaining that he did not like to sleep alone. ‘Did you have a good relationship with Mister Killian?’

‘Not really, no. Thor told me to stay away from him. He did not trust him.’

‘And why is that?’ Tony asked, handing out a drink for the kid. 

Loki shrugged, ‘A feeling, I guess.’ He looked at the glass for a second, his hands buried in his sleeves as he shook his head and kindly refused the drink.

‘Loki,’ Steve started, noticing the red color on the raven’s cheeks. ‘Aren’t you warm? You were wearing a long-sleeved shirt yesterday as well, weren’t you?’ 

The raven uncomfortably placed his hands on his lap and fiddled with his sleeves, ‘I just like this kind of clothing…’

‘It’s almost 90 degrees out there,’ Stark remarked, doubting the teen’s words. He sat next to Loki, leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, ‘I’m sorry, I’m not buying it.’ 

The silence that followed was short to last as Thor barged into the kitchen, tension etched in his face. ‘How dare you interrogate my brother without my consent!’ The blond nearly shouted, his teeth bared in anger. 

‘Mister Odinson-’

‘-We were just about to leave,’ Steve spoke, interrupting Tony who had already jumped up from his seat to face the older brother. The blond stood up, following his partner’s lead as they both walked towards the front door. ‘Ah, yes. One more thing, Mister Odinson, why did you not tell us that you were with Mister Barnes the night of the murder?’ 

‘Because you did not ask,’ Thor replied haughtily at which Steve and Tony raised a brow. ‘Our security round ended somewhere before twelve. You asked of my whereabouts between twelve and two o’clock.’ He patted Loki on his shoulder, the harshness in voice completely gone as he spoke to him in their native language. 

Loki nodded. He jumped from his chair and disappeared into the hallway, old wood creaking slightly as he continued his way up the stairs. 

‘You two were about to leave,’ Thor said after making sure his little brother had disappeared up the stairs. He gestured towards the hallway that would lead to the front door. 

Steve nodded, thanking Thor for his time before leaving the mansion and driving back to the police station with Tony.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 

 

‘I just don’t understand why he has to be so damn protective over his brother,’ Tony complained as he and Steve walked thought the doors of the police station. ‘I mean, it’s not like the kid’s five anymore.’ 

‘But he’s still a kid,’ Steve shrugged. ‘And he’ll probably always be a kid in his brother’s eyes. Thor must have lost his trust in about everyone after his parents’ death. The police in his homeland couldn’t protect them then, so why should he trust us now?’ 

‘Yeah, I get that, but they would make it so much easier for themselves if they would just cooperate.’ 

‘Easier for themselves or for us?’ Steve asked as the two walked into his office, his attention shifting towards his red-headed coworker. ‘Anything on Killian yet? And where’s Sam?’ 

‘He’s still at Fury’s office, asking for that raise,’ Natasha said as she stood up from behind her desk and grabbed her tabled.

‘Poor guy,’ Tony chuckled. ‘Fury’s gonna eat him alive.’ 

It was at that moment that Sam nearly skipped into Rogers’ office and turned to face the man. He held the blond’s face in his hands and smiled brightly. ‘Thanks, Rogers,’ He pressed a kiss against the man’s cheek and ruffled his hair. ‘Starting next month, I’ll be earning a hundred bucks extra! Fury agreed with the raise!’ 

Tony blinked his eyes in complete surprise. He opened his mouth, wanting to ask him how he did it, but Steve cut him off. 

‘That’s great, Sam,’ the blond smiled but was quick to continue the investigation. ‘Natasha?’ 

‘Killian’s financials are all in order. He buys companies, helps them grow and then sells them again for a huge profit. He’s pretty successful, only lost money on two investments. I spoke to some of his colleagues, or at least, people who were in the same business, and here is where it gets interesting,’ She waited a moment, making sure she has everyone’s attention. ‘Killian told some of those colleagues that his next project would be Potts Refugee Reception Office, but Pepper turned his offer down. Killian was furious. According to those colleagues, he said that it was all the fault of- and I quite; “Those fucking disgusting refugees”. Killian believed that Pepper would be more open for business if Bucky, Wanda, Thor and Loki were out of her hair. So, he swore he’d take care of this “problem”, personally.’

‘So that’s why Killian offered his help,’ Tony said as a line formed between his furrowed brows. ‘He didn’t want to help her out of kindness, he wanted to gain her trust.’ 

‘Killian hated Barnes, Maximoff and the Odinsons for Pepper’s rejection on his offer.’ Sam noted, ‘He must have thought that if they would just leave her, Pepper would become less passionate about her work. Tension must have been running high in that mansion.’

‘Yes, I find it hard to believe that everyone is so indifferent towards Killian as well. Surely the man must have spoken to them about moving out, or even leaving the country.’ Natasha nodded. ‘But that’s not all.’ She took a deep breath, biting her bottom lip for a split second before continuing. ‘You asked me to look through the charges pressed against our victim.’

‘Right,’ Steve nodded. ‘What did you find?’

‘Our victim was charged with several crimes, most of them were not really all that significant. Fraud, money laundering, etc. however…’ 

‘However?’ Tony repeated, urging Natasha to continue.

‘He’s also been charged with sexual assault.’ The woman handed Steve her tabled, giving him all the information she had found. ‘He was supposed to watch his neighbor’s kid, fourteen years old. The victim dared to press charges against him after a few weeks, but the case got dismissed due to structural defects.’

The group fell silent for a moment, Tony being the first to open his mouth, ‘So that girl finally dared to speak and then…’ 

‘Not “girl”,’ Steve corrected him, his eyes glued on the tabled Natasha handed him. ‘It was a boy.’ He took a deep breath and shut the tablet down, his attention directed towards his team again. ‘Romanoff, Wilson, I want you guys to take a look into our refugees’ papers. I want to know what would have happened to them if Killian would have succeeded in throwing them out of the mansion. Stark, I want Miss Potts and Thor here, right now. Oh, and Wanda. You know what, bring the whole gang. Put them in separate rooms once they get here.’ 

‘Everyone?’ Stark repeated. ‘Even Loki?’ He gulped as the blond’s face remained stern and unmoving, a shiver running down his spine as he squinted his eyes slightly, ‘You mean, the blood found on our victim… You think that might be…?’

‘I don’t think anything, Stark,’ Rogers sighed, a grim expression forming on his face. ‘But that boy is hiding something, and I need to know what.’

 

* * *

 

 

‘I’m asking you one more time, Barnes, where were you on the night of the murder?’ Tony peered at the man seated in front of him. His hands slamming on the table as he got no response. ‘Well?!’

‘I already told you! I was walking the last security round with Thor!’ 

‘And then?’ Steve asked impatiently.

‘And then nothing! I dropped Thor off at his room and- and I went straight towards my own room.’ 

‘And was there anything unusual? Did Thor behave differently? Did he say something to you about Killian?’ Tony continued as he paced through the small room, sounding like he was about to snap.

‘No! N-no, we- we thought that we heard a shower when we were standing in front of his door, so Thor went inside without another word.’ 

‘A shower? At midnight?’ Steve squinted his eyes. ‘Isn’t that strange? Don’t Loki and Thor share that room?’ The blond continued before Bucky could even reply. ‘Was Loki still up that late at night?’ 

‘…I’ve got nothing more to tell you,’ Bucky tensed up and crossed his arms, averting his eyes from the two detectives. ‘So I’m leaving now,’ He stood up, Tony following his lead, meeting his gaze and ready to stop him.

‘Sit!’ Steve’s voice echoed through the small interrogation room, low and dominating. He waited for both his partner and the suspect to sit down again before continuing. ‘You said that you hardly ever spoke to Killian, but we did our research and discovered that he was trying to get you and the others out of the mansion.’ He looked up at Bucky, waiting for a response, but the man kept his mouth shut.

‘Hello! Anybody in there?!’ Tony’s voice was loud as he leaned forward, waving his hand as the ex-soldier’s eyes were fixated on the grey walls of the room. ‘Killian tried to kick you back to Russia. He tried to send you to your death!’ 

Bucky still remained silent.

‘…Fine,’ Steve sighed as he closed his notebook. ‘We will ask Mister Odinson to walk his security round alone tonight.’ He smiled at the soldier and stood up, ‘you can stay here and think things over.’ 

‘Wait, you can’t do that,’ Bucky snapped, sounding almost desperate as he finally looked at the two men. ‘You can’t keep me here.’ 

‘Oh, but we can,’ Tony smiled as he reached for the door handle. ‘Obstruction of an investigation is something we don’t take very lightly here in America.’ 

The thought of having to stay the night in a cell must have frightened Bucky, for he was shifting uncomfortably in his chair. His eyes darted back and forth, a hand nervously tangling in his dark hair as he started to panic.

‘We will be seeing you tomorrow, Mister Barnes,’ Steve smiled one last time and walked through the doorway. He grabbed the handle and wanted to close the door behind him but was stopped by the soldier’s voice. 

‘Okay, wait!’ Bucky growled softly in frustration, the stress bringing out his Russian accent more than ever. ‘Killian, he- at first, he was kind and patient with us. He helped Miss Potts with her company, he even helped around the mansion sometimes. He came more often as time went by, but, about half a year ago, things changed. He started to threaten us behind Miss Potts’ back. Telling us we needed to pack our bags and leave America.’ 

‘That must have been terrifying,’ Tony remarked in mock pity, squinting his eyes at the panicked man. 

‘It was!’ Bucky confirmed. ‘We were scared, all of us.’

‘Why didn’t you tell Miss Potts?’ Steve asked calmly as he sat down again. 

‘We didn’t want to trouble her. She trusted him and he was good to her, and to her business.’

‘So, you couldn’t go to Pepper, nor the police, ‘cause hey? Who would they believe; A well respected American businessman or a crazy, broken, Russian lab experiment?’ Tony smirked, this harsh remark causing Steve to glare at him from the corner of his eye.  

‘…Exactly,’ Bucky’s head dropped, as did his voice. ‘There was nothing we could do…’ 

‘Is that why you murdered him, Mister Barnes?’ Steve asked, compassion softening his voice. ‘To protect yourself? To protect the ones you now call your family?’ 

‘I did not kill him,’ Bucky looked up, desperation shading his gentle brown eyes. ‘I had no reason to, not anymore at least. The threats started about half a year ago, but it stopped about a week after.’ 

‘And why is that?’ Tony asked smugly, crossing his arms.

‘I don’t know,’ Bucky voice filled with tension again as he looked at Stark. ‘Ask the others! They’ll tell you the same thing.’ 

‘Of course, they will.’

  

* * *

 

 

‘If Loki is here, I swear I will-!’ Thor threatened, jumping to his feet the moment the two detectives entered the interrogation room.

‘Sit!’ Steve sighed, the behavior of both Bucky and Thor starting to work on his nerves. He cleared his throat as the three of them sat down and continued. ‘Killian tried to get the four of you out of the mansion, back to your own country, am I correct?’ His voice was stern, impatient even. It clearly took Thor by surprise. 

‘How did you-’ 

‘Yes or no?’ Tony continued, his voice matching that of his partner. ‘It’s a very easy question.’ 

‘Yes, he tried but-’ 

‘And with that he did not only endanger your life but that of your little brother as well.’

‘That is correct, however, -’ 

‘You all decided not to tell Miss Potts or go to the police, it would’ve been no use anyway,’ Tony leaned on the table, his face hovering close to that of Thor. ‘So, you had to come up with something else to get rid of Killian.’

‘Mister Odinson, did you kill Mister Killian?’ Steve continued before Thor could even defend himself against his partner. 

‘No! I did not!’ Thor exclaimed in anger. ‘It is true that Killian threatened to throw us out, yes, but that was half a year ago! I hated him, we all did but he stopped his threats a couple of days later!’ 

‘Because you threatened to kill him?’ Tony asked smugly, raising his brows. He looked at the man’s strong build. Thor was tall and months of working as a carpenter had clearly strengthened the blond’s body. ‘Killian might have been a powerful man on paper, but he was weak compared to you.’ 

‘No!’

‘You threatened to snap his neck?! To bash his skull in with a hammer?!’

‘No! No, that’s not what happened!’

‘Then why did Killian stop?!’

‘I don’t know!’

‘Mister Odinson, did Killian also threaten your little brother?’ Steve dared to ask.

Thor’s intense blue eyes shifted from Tony towards the blond, cold and unforgiving. ‘If he would have done that,’ he started, his voice a low growl, ‘then I would have met the two of you half a year ago. For I would have killed him if he even dared to point a finger at Loki.’ He took a deep breath, ‘but he did not. He never contacted Loki.’ 

‘How can you be so sure of that?’ 

‘I know my baby brother, Mister Stark. I would have noticed,’ Thor squinted his eyes slightly. ‘I check on him when he goes to bed, before he goes to school and when he comes home. I help him with his homework, I go to his PTM’s! If Killian would have threatened Loki, I would have known!’ 

‘Mister Odinson, there is another reason why we are asking you this,’ Steve started cautiously, though he maintained eye contact. ‘We did some research on Mister Killian. There have been charges pressed against him for sexual abuse.’

‘So?’ Thor asked, slightly confused. 

‘His victim was his neighbor, a fourteen-year-old boy.’ Steve took a deep breath, ‘Do you think Loki-’

Thor slowly stood up from his seat, anger raging through his core and blazing in his bright blue eyes. ‘As I said, Mister Rogers,’ his voice was strained, his nostrils flaring as he took deep breaths. ‘I would have killed him, if I would have noticed that he had even lifted as much as a finger towards my little brother.’

Thor grabbed his jacked and dashed out of the interrogation room. 

Tony let himself slumber in his chair and rubbed his pounding temple. Steve merely sighed.

 

* * *

 

‘Were you and Mister Killian close?’ Steve asked as the two detectives were now in the next interrogation room.

‘Not really, no,’ Wanda frowned, her voice steady. ‘I already told you this when we met, I hardly spoke to him.’ 

‘Then why were you crying when we you found Killian?’ Tony asked casually, continuing his questioning before the girl could even answer. ‘Were you in love with him? Did Bucky or Thor found out? Maybe one of them killed Killian because they did not want him to be around you?’

‘унбелиевабле,’ the woman growled in her native tongue, nearly forgetting to switch to English again. ‘You clearly have no idea what you are talking about, do you? Thor and Bucky are like brothers to me!’

‘Brothers can be very overprotective,’ Tony raised his brows. ‘Take a look at Thor and Loki.’ 

‘Thor and Bucky hated Killian, as did I but they did not kill him. And I did not have a relationship with either of them,’ Wanda’s voice was strained, her hands shaking in anger. ‘As for me crying, Mister Stark, finding the man dead reminded me of my brother and that murder is something that happens everywhere, even in the _greatest_ country in the world.’ She stood up and bend over the table, her eyes filled with tears. She looked Tony straight in the eye as she spoke with quivering voice; ‘Pietro was everything to me, and he was killed for stealing food,’ tears streamed down her face, her voice reducing to a soft whisper, filled with loathing. ‘He was killed for trying to take care of me… Do you know what that felt like?’

 

* * *

 

 

‘How many times are you going to bother us, Mister Rogers?’ Pepper asked as she crossed her arms. The cold fluorescent ceiling lights casting shadows on her brown eyes. ‘Aldrich’s death was an accident so why am I here in this interrogation room?’

‘Miss Potts, were you aware of the fact that Mister Killian still tried to buy your company even after you rejected his offer?’ Steve asked sternly as he sat down across the woman. 

‘Aldrich tried to buy my company, _once_.’ 

‘Killian could have made a fortune out of your business, but he couldn’t have it. And why is that? Because one woman was standing in his way, or better yet, four refugees. He was furious,’ Tony continued and then took a deep breath. He walked towards her, slowly, and placed the palms of his hands next to Pepper on the cold surface of the table. He leaned close to her, a smug grin on his face, ‘You want to know what I think, Miss Potts?’ He nearly whispered, clearly making the woman uncomfortable. ‘I don’t think your little family was as happy and loving as you proclaim it to be. I think there was definitely some tension between Killian and your four “cohabitants”. Killian wanted them gone, out of the house, making it seem like the four you saved used you, then packed their bags and left. Surely you would be willing to sell your company after such a shitty move.’

‘You’re lying! Aldrich was nothing like that!’

‘But he was,’ Steve leaned forward, his elbows resting on the small table, hands folded in front of his mouth. ‘Mister Killian threatened your staff, Mister Barnes and Mister Odinson already confirmed this.’

‘But the threats suddenly stopped,’ Tony continued. He folded his hands behind his back and casually circled around the table. ‘What did you tell him when you found out, Miss Potts? Did you threaten to throw him out of your company? To call the police? Maybe offered him sex in exchange for leaving your little family be?’

‘Wha-?! No! No, I did not even know of this!’

‘Then why did the threats stop, Miss Potts?’

‘I. Don’t. know!’ She stood up, her fingers tightly clenched around her purse. ‘I don’t know what games you’re playing, but I can assure you that you will regret this!’


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone and welcome to this new chapter. I just want to give you guys a warning cause this one might have some themes which might be a trigger for some people... I don't want to spoil so I'm not going to tell you what it is right now so if you want to know what the warning is for, please ask in the comments before reading and I will be happy to answer you. Again, please proceed with caution :)

**Chapter 5**

‘So, they all went from hardly knowing him to hardly standing him,’ Tony said and took a sip from his coffee. ‘Wanda and Pepper claim that they were asleep, which is not much of an alibi. And Thor and Bucky are covering each other with their little security round story… and then they went to sleep as well, so…’

‘You’re forgetting Loki,’ Steve noted as he stared out of his window.

‘The kid?’ Tony sighed. ‘Okay, well, _Loki_ claimed to be asleep when the murder happened so, all in all…’ 

‘We still have nothing,’ Steve rubbed his tired eyes. ‘Let’s go have a talk with our youngest suspect. See if we can get anymore information out of him.’ 

Tony nodded and quickly tried to down half his cup of coffee in one big gulp. He cursed however as it spilled from the cup, leaving a large stain on his expansive dress shirt. ‘Ah, fuck!’ 

‘Language,’ Steve chuckled at the highly irritated glare from his partner. 

‘Hey, remember Wanda mumbling something in her native language? You think she cursed me or something?’ 

‘Most likely,’ Steve offered his jacked, which was clearly to big for Tony. ‘Or maybe it’s just karma.’ 

The two walked out of the blond’s workplace and down the long hallway. They slowed their pace as they passed Fury’s office, their ears pricked up as they heard a familiar voice.

 

It was Miss Potts.

 

They stood still for a couple of seconds, their ears almost pressed against the door. The woman sounded angry, though they could not hear what she was saying exactly. 

‘Come on, Stark, let’s go before Fury gets to us,’ Steve quickly gave his partner a light push against his shoulders, the two of them hurriedly making their way towards the interrogation rooms again.

 

* * *

 

‘Loki, can you tell me, again, what the relationship was between you and Mister Killian?’ Steve started, his gentle blue eyes gazing at the slightly nervous teen across from him. 

‘Thor told me to stay away from him,’ the raven responded as he fiddled with his long sleeves. 

‘Okay, but, surely you have spoken to him, sometime?’ Tony tried, ‘He was around for almost a year and you can’t avoid him forever.’

Tony and Steve looked at each other from the corners of their eyes as Loki merely shrugged.

‘We… found some information, that, well…’ the blond continued carefully. ‘Has Killian ever approached you? Or done anything to you that you did not want?’ 

At first, the raven child shrugged again, but then started to nervously bite on the fingernail of his thumb as both Steve and Tony kept staring at him. ‘It’s only takes a few minutes,’ he murmured in his hand, his eyes turned towards the wall. ‘It’s a small price to pay.’

‘A small price to pay?’ Tony repeated in horror. ‘To pay for what? How did you have to pay?’ 

‘It, uhm- it started about half a year ago,’ Loki nodded at his own words. ‘He just… he just wanted to touch, at first. Then there was the-uhm, the kissing, yes. Small pecks, and then- then full on kisses and, uhm, tongue…’ 

‘Did it stop at kissing?’ Steve asked cautiously, his heart sinking in his chest as he looked at the nervous teen. 

Loki shook his head. ‘No,’ he swallowed thickly, clearly struggling to push the words out of his mouth. ‘There was, more, at some point.’ A trembling smile covered his face, ‘Prices of products go up all the time, this was no exception, that’s what Mister Killian always used to say, haha-ha.’ He forced a laugh. 

‘What did you have to pay for, Loki?’ 

‘So we could stay, of course,’ Loki nodded again, tears trickling down his cheek without him even blinking. He held his fingers in front of his mouth, absentmindedly tugging at his bottom lip between his fingernails till it almost bled. ‘I overheard Bucky and Thor talk to each other. They said that Mister Killian tried to send us back to our- our own countries, a-and that there was nothing they could do about it. I wanted to know if that was true, so I went to Killian and, h-he said that we had to leave. I begged him to-uhm, to let us stay… I didn’t want to leave, I didn’t want to go back to the Faroe Islands… So, Killian, he, he offered me a deal.’ 

‘You could all stay, in exigence for-’ 

‘For all that, yes,’ Loki quickly nodded, interrupting Tony.

‘And that’s why Killian stopped threatening the others,’ Tony’s voice was close to a growl, which made the teen look up at him in fear. ‘Does Thor know?’ 

The raven quickly shook his head. ‘No,’ he smiled desperately. ‘No. And he can never find out about it! It would kill him...’ 

‘Loki,’ although Steve’s was soft and gentle it still clearly startled the teen. ‘Were you with Mister Killian the night of the murder?’ 

Loki nervously nipped at his fingers again, nearly breaking the skin as he rocked his body slightly in his chair. Precious emerald eyes made quick contact with the two men before nodding slowly. ‘Yes,’ he whispered softly.

‘Did he-’ Tony started carefully, but Loki already nodded again before he could finish his question.

‘I always go to him at night, when Thor is walking through the mansion with Bucky,’ the raven gulped. ‘I always make sure to be in bed again before he comes back. That, uhm- that night, Mister Killian had a few drinks with Miss Potts and he was drunk. He was still drinking when I got to his room and h-he had dropped his glass. The shards were everywhere and I wanted to clean it up but I- I-’ For the first time Loki opened his trembling hands, his palms now clearly visible.

Steve and Tony breathlessly watched as vicious red cuts were healing on pale skin. 

‘I cut myself, accidentally, a-and Mister Killian, he got angry so he, uhm,’ the raven was shivering, waves of heat and cold leaving him nauseous. ‘He pulled down his fly and told me to… to use my mouth on him. He said it was my fault that he got so mad and that I should make up for it… I was so scared, I-I didn’t want to, so I pushed him away.’ Loki was sobbing now, his voice quivering. He slowly stood up and took off his sweater, revealing small black bruises just above his hipbones and bright red strips crossing his back. ‘He, he reminded me that I had no choice. He grabbed me, a-and pulled down my pants, and I-’ Loki swallowed thickly, trying to force himself to say it, but he couldn’t. 

Tony and Steve remained speechless, the sight of the teen’s abused and trembling body taking away their very voice. 

‘Loki,’ Steve eventually started after clearing his throat. ‘Did you kill Mister Killian? Did you push him out of the window, because you couldn’t take it anymore?’ 

The raven looked over his shoulder, petrified green eyes staring at the two, ‘no, sir. After Killian, w-well, _finished,_ I went back to my own room and went to bed.’

 

* * *

 

 

Steve, Tony, Sam and Natasha were all gathered in the blond’s office. They were silent, Loki’s story leaving them at a loss for words. 

‘He had the opportunity and a heck of a motive,’ Tony was the first to talk, his voice small. ‘Killian abused him for over half a year and that last time, well… he just couldn’t take it anymore.’ 

‘I can understand,’ Natasha reacted, her voice equally soft. ‘I think I would have done the same.’

 ‘So, Loki went to Killian, like he always did,’ Sam started, ‘expecting to pay the “small” price like he had to do, every night.’

‘Only this time, Killian was somewhat drunk,’ Steve continued grimly. ‘He scared Loki, Loki resisted-’

‘And Killian rapes him,’ Tony growled, spitting out the words in absolute disgust and anger. ‘Loki panics, pushes the drunk man away from him and Killian stumbles out of the window.’ 

‘Loki goes to his room before Thor finds out and the entire thing looks like it was one big accident.’ Tony sighed. ‘I can’t believe I’m saying this, but, I really wish he would have gotten away with it…’ 

‘What will happen to Loki?’ Natasha asked Steve but he did not respond. ‘Rogers?’ She tried again, gaining the man’s attention with a short “hm?”. Natasha frowned, ‘What’s wrong?’ 

‘It’s just… I don’t know, something doesn’t feel right,’ Steve admitted, mulling over the entire investigation. 

‘What’s _wrong_ is that a full-grown man abuses and rapes a fifteen year old kid,’ Tony snapped, running a hand through his hair. 

‘And the saddest part is that Loki did not have to do all this,’ Natasha held a stack of papers in her hand, flipping through them as she continued. ‘I did some research. All the papers of the refugees are properly taken care off. There was no way Killian could have expelled them from the Mansion, let alone send them back to their own countries.’ 

‘ROGERS!’ 

The four detectives nearly jumped at the sound of a familiar voice. 

Steve sighed as he stood up. ‘And then there’s that,’ he grumbled as he made his way towards Fury’s office.

 

* * *

 

‘Miss Potts was here about an hour ago and I can tell that she was not amused!’ Fury said as he leaned on his desk, his one eye peering at the blond in front of him. ‘According to her you crossed the line.’

‘I only confronted her with facts,’ Steve responded in return, his eyes clearly showing that he was still deep in thoughts. 

‘Just make sure not to cross that line again, Rogers.’ 

‘Why?’ Steve snapped, ‘Because she’s wealthy?’ 

‘That has nothing to do with it. I just don’t want her to file any official claims against you.’ Fury frowned, clearly not used to this behavior. ‘Is something bothering you, Rogers?’ 

Steve made a noise that was a perfect mixture of a growl and a sigh. He crossed his arms, pensively looking up at the ceiling, ‘We’ve got a suspect. He has a motive and confessed to have been in contact with our victim at the time he was murdered.’ 

‘… So this murder is solved,’ Fury said, making it sound more as a statement than a question. He looked at the blond, who pulled a doubtful face in response. ‘Or… not?’ 

Steve leaned forward in his chair, his elbows resting on his knees, his hands clasped together. He informed Fury of every interrogation, leaving no details spared. He eventually told him about Loki and how the young teen has all odds against him. 

‘Well,’ Fury continued calmly and he took in a deep breath. ‘I understand your problem, but we can’t just look away after a confession like that.’ He stood up from his chair and patted Steve on his shoulder. ‘This is a hard case, Rogers. You and your team did well. I assume I can now categorize this case as solved and closed?’ 

Steve stared in front of him for a moment longer before meeting Fury’s gaze. He responded with a soft grunt, leaving the man’s office without another word.

 

* * *

  

 

‘What did Fury want from you?’ Tony asked slightly worried as he saw his partner grab his jacket. 

‘Nothing.’ Steve crumbled. ‘I need a drink.’ 

Tony frowned and looked at Natasha and Sam, who were equally stunned. The man grabbed his own coat and quickly followed the blond out of the police station.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone,
> 
> So, this is it. The final chapter. The moment of truth.  
> I really hope you will enjoy reading it just as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

**Chapter 6**

 

 

‘There’s something we’ve overlooked, Tony,’ Steve said as the two of them were sitting at the corner of a bar of a small pub. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and liquor mixed in the air as the regular costumers were slowly dripping in. Some were standing by the old pool table, leisurely taking turns, laughing all the while. Most people were sitting at a table, smoking their cigarettes or cigars, a drink in their hand while they talked. ‘Or something we’ve missed…’

‘I don’t think so, Steve,’ Tony sighed and he took another sip from his Jack Daniel’s. He closed his eyes, trying to block the murmuring around him and focus on the jazzy tunes coming from an old jukebox. ‘Killian was murdered. Loki is the only one with a motive and he was with our victim at the time of death.’ 

‘But we don’t have a confession,’ the blond argued in frustration. ‘Why tell us that gruesome story, why tell us what Killian did to him but deny murdering him?’

‘I don’t know,’ Tony shrugged tiredly, this whole case bothering him more than he would like to admit. ‘Maybe he’s scared that he would be send back to his home country? Maybe he just doesn’t want to get separated from Thor?’ 

‘Can you guys please stop looking so down for a second? You’re scaring away my costumers.’ An old man on the other side of the bar leaned on the counter. His eyes were hardly visible behind his tainted glasses and his white moustache merely showed a moody mouth. ‘You guys pouting over that Killian case?’ 

‘Hm?’ Steve looked up from his drink. The bartender had become a familiar and friendly face over the last couple of years, as Steve and Tony always came here when they were stuck in a case. ‘Yeah… Wait, Stan, how do you know?’

‘Believe me, kid, news like that spreads like a wild fire in these kinds of pubs,’ the man smiled, offering the blond another drink. ‘You know, rumors had it that he-uh, that he did things, to kids,’ the sentence was balancing somewhere between a statement and a question. The man kept looking at Steve, hoping for any form of confirmation but he quickly continued as the blond looked back at him in silence. ‘Well, tell you this, if he would have been _my_ neighbor and would have touched _my_ younger brother, well, I would have-!’ 

‘Mind your heart, Stan,’ Tony said as a slight smile finally formed on his face again and he raised his glass. ‘Never knew you had a brother.’ 

‘Oh, yes! And I always knew what that little bastard was up to as well! Had to keep a close eye on that one.’ The man laughed and leaned slightly forward, lowering his voice as if he was going to tell the two a very big secret. ‘You see guys, the thing with younger siblings is to let them _think_ you don’t know what they’ve been up to, but in the meantime-’ The old man did not finish his sentence and merely smiled knowingly, giving Tony a quick wink as the man nodded in agreement. 

‘He didn’t know…’ Steve murmured to himself, a line appearing between his furrowed brows. 

‘What was that, Rogers?’ Tony asked lightly, taking another sip of his drink.

‘He didn’t know,’ The blond repeated and he looked at his partner. ‘Come on, Stark, we’ve gotta go.’ 

‘Go?’ Tony blinked his eyes in confusion. ‘Go where? What’s gotten into you?’ 

Steve jumped from his chair, leaving his beer standing at the bar unfinished. ‘We’re gonna catch a murderer,’ he said as he was already walking towards the front door, not even looking back at his partner. 

‘But- I-’ Tony stammered in protest, pointing at his glass which was still filled with liquor. He growled something beneath his breath as he noticed that his partner would not wait for him. He looked at the old man behind the bar, who raised his shoulder in an equal lack of understanding. Tony grumbled softly and quickly took a big gulp of his drink before leaving the bar as well, following his partner.

 

* * *

 

‘We are here, once again, because one of you killed Aldrich Killian,’ Steve spoke as he stood before all his suspects, Tony close at his side. 

They had gathered in the living room of the large mansion on request, tension almost visibly vibrating through the air as Steve’s voice was the only sound that broke the silence. Miss Potts was sitting on the sofa, Wanda sitting left of her and Loki on her right. She nervously eyed the two detectives, her heart beating even faster as she noticed the two uniformed officers who had accompanied the two detectives and were now standing patiently in the corner of the room. 

‘It must have been a stupid accident,’ Pepper sounded irritated, a hint of uncertainty ringing through. ‘I already told you that we had a couple of drinks before going to bed. Why won’t you leave us alone?! I already spoke with Commissioner Fury!’ 

‘I know,’ The blond responded, his voice strong and demanding, his sharp blue eyes instantly silencing the woman. ‘but our pathologist told us that the chances of him falling out of the window just because of the alcohol were very small.’ He looked at the others, ‘No… someone pushed him.’

‘Mister Odinson,’ Tony continued, looking at the blond. ‘You claimed that, after you walked your last round with Mister Barnes over here, you went to your room.’ 

‘Aye,’ Thor confirmed and looked at Bucky, who merely nodded. 

‘And there was nothing out of the ordinary? Nothing different?’ 

Thor had to remind himself to unclench his fists as he looked at the detective’s smirk. ‘Nothing. I went to bed.’ 

‘And is it true that you share your room with your little brother?’ Steve continued, and he looked at Loki. The raven nodded timidly and instantly felt his brother’s hand resting on his shoulder. ‘Was Loki asleep when you entered your room, Mister Odinson?’ 

‘Of course he was.’ 

‘Huh, that’s strange,’ Tony remarked and turned towards the ex-soldier who was standing next to Wanda. ‘Makes me wonder who was taking that shower.’ 

Bucky looked at Thor for a split second but then averted his eyes to the floor as he the blond squinted his eyes slightly. He remained silent. 

‘We _thought_ we heard a shower running,’ Thor took a small step forward, almost taking a protective stance in front of his younger brother. ‘but it turned out that my brother had forgotten to turn off the tv.’ 

‘That happens from time to time,’ Wanda quickly added as she shifted to the edge of her seat. ‘Loki tends to fall asleep when he watches movies. It happened before.’ 

‘Mister Odinson, I’ll ask again,’ Steve spoke sternly, ignoring the girl’s remark. ‘Was Loki asleep in his bed the moment you entered the bedroom.’

‘Yes,’ Thor growled. 

‘And did you go straight to bed as well? No detours? No wondering around the mansion?’ 

‘Yes,’ the man answered again, feeling his blood boil.

‘Well, there you have it,’ Pepper stood up from her seat as the two detectives remained silent for a moment. ‘Can we go now?’ 

‘Yes, you can,’ Steve nodded. ‘But I am afraid that Loki will have to come with me.’ 

‘What…?’ Loki almost whispered, fear instantly shadowing those emerald eyes. ‘T-Thor, I swear I didn’t-’ 

‘No, no Loki couldn’t have done this,’ Wanda nearly whispered as she placed her hands in front of her mouth. ‘There must be some mistake.’ 

‘I am afraid not, Miss Maximoff,’ Steve’s eyes remained locked with Loki’s. ‘He admitted he was with Killian on the exact time of the murder and he is the only one with a motive.’ 

Bucky jumped to his feet, his eyes cold as night as he walked straight for the officers in the back of the room who were already pulling out their cuffs. He clenched his hand into a tight fist as the two officers warned him to stay back, the only thing keeping him from fighting being Wanda who jumped in between. 

‘Loki Odinson, you are hereby under arrest for voluntary manslaughter,’ Steve stated as his partner cuffed the teen’s wrists. ‘You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do may be used as evidence against you in a court of law.’ 

‘Thor, I didn’t do it,’ tears broke down the raven’s eyes as he looked at his older brother in desperation. He cried, sobs disrupting his breathing as Tony silently moved him out of the room. ‘I swear I didn’t do it!’ 

‘… Let him go,’ Thor whispered, tears stinging in his eyes. ‘For Norns sake let him go.’ 

Steve let out an imperceptible sigh and nodded towards his partner.

Much to everyone’s surprise Loki was released instantly. 

The young raven rubbed one of his wrists. He looked utterly lost as he walked back to his brother, one small step at the time. ‘брате…?’ 

‘It’s alright, Loki,’ The smile that Thor casted towards his little brother was filled with nothing but love, his blue eyes gentle and warm. ‘I just-’ He averted his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, his smile slightly quivering as he looked at his baby brother again. ‘It will be alright. I promise.’ 

 

* * *

 

 

‘Bucky dropped me off at my room after we finished our rounds,’ Thor stated as he was sitting in the interrogation room of the police station, Steve and Tony patiently sitting in front of him. ‘We heard the shower running, which was strange ‘cause Loki never stays up that late.’ 

‘So you immediately went inside to check on him,’ Steve noted. 

Thor nodded and he gulped, ‘I went inside, closed the door behind me. I saw that all the lights were still on and that Loki was not in his bed. He had left the uhm, the bathroom door unlocked so I…’ Thor took a deep breath, trying to steady his trembling voice. ‘I peeked inside, and I- I saw Loki, standing there. He was… crying and shivering, his skin was all red from the hot water…’ He fell silent as the vision of his younger brother was burned into his eyes.

‘What happened next, Mister Odinson?’

‘I-uhm, at first, I wanted to barge in, ask him what happened,’ Thor nodded slowly. ‘But, then I saw that he- he had bruises on his arms and on his hips and there were scratch marks on his back. At first I thought he was being bullied at school or, or maybe he had picked a fight, but…’ A tear trickled slowly down Thor’s cheek and he was quick to wipe it away. ‘then I saw the blood and semen dripping down between his legs.’ Thor shut his eyes, his nose wrinkled as he fought bravely against a sob. ‘He was hardly able to stand…’ 

‘And that’s when you figured it out,’ Tony spoke, patiently waiting for Thor to continue. 

‘I knew that there could only be one person who could have done this to my brother,’ Thor looked up, tears escaping his eyes. ‘I went to Killian and barged into his room. He was just… just sitting there, watching tv. Drunk.’

 

* * *

  

_‘Thor, wha-what are you doing here?’ Aldrich wheezed, slurring his words. ‘Get the fuck out of my room, you filthy piece of-’_

_‘What have you done to my brother?’ Thor hissed, his hands formed into tight fists, trembling with rage. ‘What did you do to Loki?!’_

_‘Hey! No shouting!’ Aldrich warned him and managed to stand up from his lazy chair, his anger instantly making way for laughter. ‘Your precious, little, baby brother came to me, all by himself.’_

_'That is not true!’_

_‘Oh but it is,’ the man haughtily raised his brows and he took another big gulp from his drink. ‘He came here just like every other night, like the good boy he is.’ He laughed as he stood face to face with the taller man. He placed his hand against Thor’s chest, trying to give him a teasing push. ‘And he just let himself fall on his stomach on my bed, and I’m telling you, there’s no way I could, or would, refuse and offer like that and, well,’ He took a deep breath, his laughter dying into a soft chuckle. ‘Well, you probably know the rest otherwise why would you be here?’_

_‘Why Loki?’ Was the only thing Thor managed to growl through his clenched teeth._

_‘Because we had a deal,’ Aldrich downed the last of his drink. ‘He gave me his body, I dropped my charges to get all of you out of this country. Simple as that.’_

_‘So, that means… that for over half a year, Loki has-’_

_‘Has been moaning and begging for me to fuck him. Either on his knees, or on his back.’ Aldrich wrapped an arm around the blond’s neck, a vicious grin spread on his face as he whispered; ‘Your baby brother is so, so tight.’_

_‘You monster!’ Thor screamed, nearly breaking the man’s arm as he pushed him from his side. ‘You’ll pay for this!’_

_Killian merely laughed as his legs could hardly support him. ‘And what were you gonna do about it, huh? HUH?! Go to the police?!’ He smacked Thor against his cheek, and then walked towards his open window. ‘You see this flag?!’ he shouted, pointing at the stars and stripes that were proudly fluttering in a breeze on the outside of the building, just above the window. ‘I am American, and you are nothing more but a worthless, homeless… parentless refugee.’ He grabbed Thor by his hair and pulled him next to him, whispering in his ear; ‘No one will ever believe you.’_

_The blond gritted his teeth, the bones in his fingers cracking as they formed tight fists in anger and frustration. He cursed softly in his native language, his legs nearly giving as an all too familiar sensation of helplessness washed over him. He knew Aldrich was right, and he knew that he could do nothing against him if he and Loki wanted to stay in this country._

_Aldrich laughed and let go of the blond’s hair. ‘You see, Thor,’ he lifted his foot slightly and trailed it over the man’s leg, only to end it with a hard kick against his shinbone. He smirked, drunk with power and alcohol as Thor winced in pain. ‘I will use that tight little brother of yours for as long as I want. I think I’ll enjoy fucking him for another year or so…’ He thought this over and then shrugged casually. ‘You can have him back when I have had my fun with him.’_

_Everything went black as Thor’s heart drummed in his chest._

_He did not notice how he had pushed Aldrich Killian out of the window._

_He did not hear him scream as he desperately tried to reach for the American flag._

_He did not see how the flag was torn of its pole and how it covered the corpse lying in the bushes below._

_It all happened so fast._

_It was over before Thor even knew what he had started._

_He dared to look outside the window, then quickly turned around and went straight to his room._

 

* * *

 

 

‘I can completely understand Thor’s actions,’ Natasha admitted, a glass of red, delicious wine in her hand. She was sitting at the round table in Rogers’ small apartment, Tony sitting next to her. 

‘Thor hoped Killian was drunk enough to make it all seem like it was an accident,’ Sam said as he caught the beer Steve threw at him. ‘That way they would all be rid of him and they wouldn’t have to be afraid to get send back to their own country.’ 

‘And above all, Loki would be safe,’ Tony grabbed a handful of peanuts from the bowl that was standing in the middle of the table. 

‘Yeah,’ Steve nodded, sitting down next to his partner. ‘At first, Thor wanted to call the police and turn himself in. He thought he could not live with the guilt, but when he went back to his bedroom and saw his little brother sleeping, well, he just felt at ease knowing Loki would never be abused by him again.’ 

‘Poor thing…’ Natasha sighed, and looked at Steve. ‘What will happen to them? Will they be able to stay in the US?

‘Yeah, they can stay,’ Steve nodded, bringing his bottle of beer to his lips. ‘Loki in the mansion, and Thor in prison…’

 

 

**~Fin~**

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it for this fic.   
> Again, I really hope you enjoyed it. I do have plans for writing a second one... Marvel - and the murder on the Witch... 
> 
> Anyway! Thank you guys so much for your kudos and for spending your precious free time on this fic!
> 
> Hope to see you again and have a marvelous day! :)
> 
> Missboaboa  
> Netherlands

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it for this chapter.  
> This is the first time for me EVER to write a mystery/detective/murder solving fic, so i'm very much open for your thoughts and feedback! :)  
> Also, English is not my native language, so it was a bit hard for me to figure out certain designations/titles/ranks in the police force. Please let me know if you spotted a mistake and I will be happy to correct them :)
> 
> Thanks again, next chapter will be posted in 1 or 2 days!


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